Monday, June 05, 2006

Students, college staff held for ragging death

By Indo-Asian News ServiceChennai, Dec 22 (IANS) Police have arrested two students and two officials of an engineering college here, holding them responsible for the suicide of a student after he was severely ragged.Police are on the lookout for the college principal and for a third student.Mohan Karthik, a student of the S.K.R. Engineering college on the outskirts of Chennai was found hanging in his hostel room Sunday.Police said Karthik was forced to bathe in his own urine, resulting in severe trauma that prompted him to commit suicide.The parents of the 19-year-old from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh said in a complaint to police that their son had told them he was ragged and humiliated by senior students.The parents said they had complained in writing to the college authorities but no action was taken.The suicide has once again focused attention on ragging in Tamil Nadu colleges that the government has been unable to contain despite several strict laws that have been in force since 1997.Navarasu, the 19-year-old son of former Madras University vice chancellor K. Ponnuswamy, a first year student of the Muthaiyah Medical College of Annamalai University went missing from his hostel room Nov 6, 1996.His mutilated body was discovered far away the next day.John David, a hostel-mate of Navarasu, was charged with committing the ragging-related murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The high court acquitted him.In September, 15 students of a Tiruchirapally law college were suspended on charges of ragging.In 2000, Deepa, a first-year student of an arts college near Kancheepuram set herself ablaze after she was ragged.In September 2003, eleven students of a medical college here, who had allegedly ragged first year students, were debarred from attending college and taking examinations for two years.The problem has become so acute that NGO Exnora International has even instituted an award for a ragging-free college